Fertilizer distributor



Feb. 8 1927,

J., L. WOODWARD lFERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR Filed Aug. 25, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet ll ololola ololoIo. o l l a lolcwsclololololo 0.0-0lIGIOIOIOIOIOIOlOllOlOlOIOIDIOIOOHOIOIO'DIOIOIO l. e

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J. L. WOODWARD FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR l Feb. s, 1927.

Filed Aug. 25, 1924 2 sheets-snaai z SMM/Hoz Patented Feb. 8,1927.

STATES;

FERTILizERAnIsrRiBUToR.

VThis invention lrelates toV fertili-zer distributors and its primary object is to provide amachine of light draft and simple construcf.

tion whereby barnyardfertilizer may be distributedv on the rows which are to be culti'- MAvatedandwhich may be easily adjusted to permittheV fertilizer to be discharged iny av continuous vstreamor Iat Ysuch intervals as may be deemed desirable. The Ainvention seeksv .to- 'minimize the handling .of `the '2 fertilizer and also Ato provide( simple'. means whereby vanyV lumpps'will bey broke1:iup so that the material will be dischargedr in a finely/comminuted condition which will facilitate its working into the soil. .Other objects of the invention will appear inciden- .tally in thencourse ofthe following descrip tion. rllhe invention is illustrated in ,the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a central longi section of a `machine embodying my' improvements; l L1 e Y Fig. 2 is a rear end elevationof the same;

i Fig. 3' is a transverse section on the line i 3-1-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of one of the pulverizers; y r

Figs. 5 and Gare detail perspectivel views of feeding blades which Vare employed;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective viewv of a charge end of the machine.,

In carrying out my invention, I employ a Vtruck Vconsisting of suitable sills or longitudinal beamsy leconnected by 4end bars or cross beams 2 and mounted upon wheels 3 whereby it. lmay be easily drawn over the field.. kThe body 4 of the vehicle is of a general hopper-like form having -downwardly converging sides which are supportedv by posts 5 from the truck and have their lower ends secured toI a platform or bottom 6, the said vbottom or platform terminat` ling short of the `ends of the hopper or body,

' as shown'clearly in Fig. 1. Above the platform'V or Vbottom 6 are false bottomsor platforms 7 f which y are .secured to and carried by the sides fof'the hopperY in any convenient manner andare separated at intervals' to providefopen spaces. 8 through ,which the material mayV passto the distributor.` When vthebody is loaded, these false bottoms, 'platforms `or shelves. will support the `great weight of the material so t at it; will 'not bear directly.upkfbl'l.V @11d feud Vto e 910g the op:

tudinal vertical eration of .the distributorv orfconveyer .9, as will be readily understood. As vthe distribu, tion of the. material proceeds, it ,may be necessaryV from; time to time to ,employV a rake to remove the material from theseV shelves orv inner vplatforms but such lworkf may vbe very easily performed.- I

e Supported in suitable bearings upon .the L under sides of the sills or.: longitudinal beams lare front and' rear lshafts 10and 11' carry'-V ing sprocketwheels which engage; in and ldrive ,i the conveyer beltV or chain'. 9. Thef forward sprocket'wheel 12 is fixed upon the front shaft 1() but the rear ysprocket-wheelV 13 is loosely mounted upon the rear shaft 11., Upon one side, this sprocket'whe'el 13v is constructed'with acl'u'tch hub 14 adapted to en- JAi/ins i.. wooDwAnn, oFviAN; oKLiiiioiirA.A

gage a clutch collar lsecured upon the r shaft, and at: the opposite side of the sprocket is a hub extension 16 which is provided with an annular groove adapted to be engaged by the end of lever 17fmounted` upon the rearend'wall of the body 4 where.4

by the `clutch hub 14 maybe moved vinto: and out of engagement with therclutch col,-y

hicle body and to the lever so asto normallyv hold the parts in ,the positionshown inFig,y 2 whereby the sprocket vwill bedriven, but when the vehicle is being driven; from the lar 15. A spring 18 is .attached tothevebarn tothe point of use the lever is setin the position indicated vbyY dotted lines in Fig.2l

motion will be' impartedthereto with .the

f so that the sprocketv will be free and no.`

tributed. ,To hold the leverv in the 'dotted 'line'position, a lug or bracket 19 is provided upon the rear end wall of the body 4 against which lthe lever Vwill vbearv and be held-:by the lspring 18 sof that it will not setthe parts to work untily it vhas been shifted over and clear of the said lug or bracket,- as will be readily understood;l ToY operate theV shaft 11, a' driving sprocket 20 is secured thereon adjacent one end anda chain 21 is trained around, the said sprocket 'and around.- ,a sprocket 22 secured upon the axle of the. rear wheels `3 so that.l as the-vehicle isfdrawny Y forwardthe shaft 11` will be rotated.,

l The Y distributing conveyer comprises an endless ,chain trained about the sprockets '12 and 13', as shownfclearly in Fig; 1, theupper run ofV `the chain 'oriY conveyer rridinglon, the platform 6 while :the lower return .run .there`y ,ofpassesrbelow saidplatform. V"Asfshown.k e Clearly firFig; l;-,the, 'rear Spedire-13 @rlefvates in the space between the rear endof the platform 6 and the rear cross bar 2 of the truck, while the front sprocket is disposed within a discharge hopper or funnel 23 sey.

cured to the body and the truck and depending therefrom at the front end of thebody.,

This discharging hopper or funnel is provided with an outlet opening 24 in its lower end adjacent its front Vside and a sliding cut-off 25 is supported by the bottom ofthe hopper in rear of the said outlet opening,

the sides of the hopperpbeing provided with front edge which projects through thev frontV wall of the hopper or funnel 23, and a spring 3l is attached to said tongueand to a fixed part of the truck soV that the cut-off will be normally held at the front of the funnel to vcover the outlet portf24, as shown inFig. l.

In thefront side of the hopper at theftop ofthe same is provided an adjustable cut-off or valve 32 which is slidably mounted in Ways 33 provided in the front wall of the body and adjustablyheld in said ways bya set screw 34 extending through a slotl 35 in the valve, as will be understood and as show n in Fig. l. The inner end ofthe valve 321s forked, as shown at 36, whereby it may -fit around the distributor chain 9 and maybe set more orV less closely thereto to regulate the flow of material through the funnel to the outlet port of the same; The discharge may thus be easily regulated so that the ma.- terial may passv more or less rapidly to the outlet of the funnel and be delivered to the ground in the desired quantity, Obviously as the machine isdrawn forward, the tappets 28-will strike against y'the trunnions'Z? and movethe cut-olf 25 rearwardly to-permit a discharge of the fertilizer and by varying the numberof the tappets the discharge may be effected at any desired intervals, it being understood that as the tappetsblear the trunnions the spring 3l will at onced'raw the cut-olf forward to cut-off the flow until thetappets again engage thl-trunnions. B disconn'ecting'the spring', theY cutoff may be set at the rear ofthe funnel and the fertilizer then permitted Yto discharge :in a continuous stream.y

Y' iTo'insurejpoSiti-Ve feeding of the fertilizer forward-te the funnel, lfeeding elements are fitted at intervals to the conveyer cha-in 9, and 'hESQHmIltS 'may be 'in the fornrof an nPertQrat-e' transverse Web 57 having a tor# wardly Vprojecting lip 38 at its upper-edge',

or may be in the form of al transverse row of Yfingers 39 having theirterminals 40 pro jecting/ forwardly, as shown in Fig. 6. It will be'understood that these feeding elements may be disposed at any desired intervals and they may be'all in the form of the blades shown in Fig. 5 or all in the form of the fingers shownlin Fig. 6 or the two forms may be used upon the same chain. much as large lumps are frequently Vformed in the fertilizer and will be loaded intofthe body 4with theV same, l provide 'means for breaking up and pulverizing these Vlumps' which are illustrated as breaker 'armsor levers 4l pivotedv upon one of the side beams or sills l and extending horizontally through slots 42'in the sides of thefb'ody. The inner ends of these` pulverizing or breaker arms are formed-into forks 43 which projectover the conveyer into the path of the feeder elements kand are adapted to ,be engagedlby the latter as they move forwardly with the chain A9. Springs 44 are vdisposed between and attached to theA sill land the respective breaker arms andtend to hold them constantlyin their rearmost positions, shown in Fig. 4. As the feeding elements move forwardly with the chain, they will successively be brought against 'the inner forkedv end of thebreaker arm and by engaging therewith will swing` it forward about its pivot 45 unt-il eventually the feeding element will clearfthe end of the fork, whereupon lthe spring 44 will at once draw the same rearwardly to its initial .position causing it to moveforcibly through the material. The vparts. will' preferably be so timed that, as the breaker arm reaches the rearward limit of its movement,

it will be engaged by a succeeding feeding element and obviously any lumps which may be caught between them will b e completely broken up and pulverized. The rapid movement of the breaker arms under the influence of the retractile springs effects an agitation of the fertilizer whereby it is 'comminuted,

and the overhang-ingA terminals of the feeder elements prevent release of the breaker arms during their movement with the conveyor so that a full stroke of the'breaker arms is assured. v Y

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the'aocompanying drawings, it will be seenthat l have provided a very simple, compact and' easily operating ymay chine whereby fertilizer willbe j'eiiieiently distributed in'V a row andV may be depositedv at hills vor continuously as maybe preferred, Havingthus described the invention, i claim:

v`l. ,A fertilizer distributor comprising aV rer-febleboflr, al discharge hopper depending from thefbody 'at the front endfthereof and Inasp'levided with outlet in' its 'ler/er @nel `and with. ,horl'eental its sides, wut-Off;

per and having trunnions extending through said slots, yieldable means` for holding the cut-ofi'l over the outlet, a feeding chain eX- tending longitudinally of the body to feed material forwardly to vtheV hopper, a shaft extending through the upper portion of the hopper and supporting the said feeding Chain, and radial tappets carried by the ends of the said shaft and adapted tol impinge against the said trunnions whereby to move the out-olf fromI over the outlet. Y

2.' A 'fertilizer distributorA comprieing la portable body having downwardly converging sides vand a platform between the lower ends ofthe sides, a feeder chain arranged 15 to travel forwardly over the platform, and shelves extending'between the sides of thev body above the said 4feeder chain and spaced apart longitudinally of the body In testimonywhereof I 'aiX my signature.

.JAMES L. woonwARD. [11.5.] 

